Schuylerville junior to serve as Senate page

A Schuylerville High School junior with an interest in politics and government will be spending three weeks working on Capitol Hill this June. Freya Birkas-Dent was one of only 30 students across the country to be accepted into the highly competitive Senate Page Program. She is being sponsored by Senator Chuck Schumer.

“I’m excited because this experience is going to allow me to relate what I’ve learned in the classroom to what is actually going on in real life,” Birkas-Dent said.

The Senate Page Program provides an opportunity for students to spend three weeks working in the Legislature. Birkas-Dent will be responsible for transporting documents between offices, as well as delivering messages and mail. She will get to spend time in the Senate Chamber and attend page school to learn about parliamentary procedure and the legislative process.

“I’m excited to see the process in action and to see the logic and the reasoning behind the laws that are being made,” Birkas-Dent said. “It will be fun to meet and work with students from across the country and to see the different political backgrounds.”

The opportunity to work on Capitol Hill is fitting for the Schuylerville junior who plans to pursue a future career in international relations.

“I would love to volunteer with the Peace Corps after college and one day be a diplomat or work in an embassy,” Birkas-Dent said.